Package for enclosing and dispensing a coiled member



Oct. 31, 1967 L. c. BRAUTIGAM PACKAGE FOR ENCLOSING AND DISPENSING A COILED MEMBER Filed May 27, 1966 M/Vf/VTO/Z [Aves/w: C BEAUT/GAM ,4 TTOR/VEY United States Patent Q 3 349,901 PACKAGE FOR ENClIOSING AND DISPENSING A COILED MEMBER Lawrence C. Brautigam, 42 Glenbrook Road, Kensington, Conn. 06037 Filed May 27, 1966, Ser. No. 553,430 9 Claims. (Cl. 206-78) The present invention relates to display packages and, more particularly, to a frangible :blister package for en closing and dispensing a coiled member.

Coilable items such as tapes and the like are preferably coiled for shipment and storage. Genera-11y, it is desirable that such coiled members be placed within a suitable container or package which will protect them from injury and maintain them in the coiled state, particularly when the coiled item is a spring-like member exerting significant uncoiling pressure. Individual packaging of such coiled members is desirable from the standpoint of convenience in selling and display packaging is highly desirable from the retail marketing standpoint. The uncoiling of springlike members can provide difficulties for the user upon removal from the package.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel frangible package for a coiled member that is adapted to convenient dispensing of the coiled member from the packa e.

It is another object to provide such a frangible package for a coiled member which attractively displays the contents thereof and is adapted to removal of the coiled member by gradually unwinding and withdrawing the coiled member so that the coiled portion is securely retained within the package.

It is a specific object to provide such a frangible package for a coiled replacement blade for a coilable rule wherein the blade is reversely wound and may be rewound directly from the package into a coilable rule casmg.

Other objects and advantages will be readily apparent from the following detailed specification and the attached drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the frangible package embodying the present invention enclosing a replacement blade for a coilable rule which is shown in solid line for clarity of illustration;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the package of FIGURE 1 with its frangible portion broken away and a portion of the replacement blade extending from the opening formed thereby for connection to a coilable rule casing;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary top view illustrating the connection of the spring of the coilable rule casing and the replacement blade prior to insertion of the tongue into its aperture; and

FIGURE 4 is a View similar to FIGURE 3 after insertion of the tongue into tis aperture.

It has now been found that the foregoing objects and other advantages can be readily attained in a frangible package for enclosing and dispensing a coiled member utilizing a support or substrate with a generally planar front face such as cardboard or other suitable material. A coiled member is disposed on the front face of the support and has an outer end portion extending tangentially from the coiled body thereof along the surface of the support. An enclosing member, desirably of transparent material, has a peripheral flange portion extending along and sealingly engaged with the front face of the support. An upwardly extending chamber portion bounded by the flange portion cooperates with the support to form an enclosure therebetween for the coiled member.

The chamber portion has a relatively wide pocket portion snugly receiving the body of the coiled member and providing a housing for rotation therein of the coiled body When the unwound portion is withdrawn from the package. In addition, the receiving chamber also has an outlet guide portion communicating with the pocket portion and receiving the outer end portion of the coiled member. The outlet guide portion is tearable or breakable (referred to herein as frangible) so that it may be easily pulled away from the remaining portion of the enclosing member to provide an opening for removal of the coiled member from the package by withdrawing the outer end portion through the opening and unwinding the coiled body within the pocket portion. Thus, the coiled body of the coiled member is retained in the package while being unwound to eliminate the danger of inadvertent kinking which might otherwise occur.

Desirably, the outlet guide portion of the enclosing member has a terminal section spaced from the pocket portion and a channel section therebetween of lesser width than the terminal section for guiding the coiled member therefrom. Although the channel section may be of sufficient length to permit fracturing or tearing thereof to provide the opening with sufiicient length remaining to ensure proper guidance, the most frangible portion is preferably situated within the terminal section.

The frangibility of the outlet guide portion is conveniently provided by a weakening line therein. Such a weakening line may be one or more incisions extending partially or fully therethrough or it may be an area of reduced thickness provided by a thermoforming die or the like, or any other means of providing an area of weakness or stress which may be fractured readily. Although the weakening line may be placed anywhere on the outlet guide portion, it should enable the fingers of the used to easily tear away a portion thereof from the rest of the package to provide an opening for grasping the end and removing the coiled member from the package. The enclosing member may be fabricated conveniently by thermoforming from synthetic plastic material such as cellulose acetate, polystyrene, or other suitable thermoplastic materials that are sufficiently strong and may be easily torn by the use of a small force particularly when a perforation is provided in the material.

In the preferred embodiment, the pocket portion has a generally exclamation-mark configuration with the terminal section and pocket portion having side walls with opposed arcuate ends and sides converging to the channel section. The converging side walls extend generally tangentially to the coiled body of the coiled member so that the end portion of the coiled member will bear against the surface of one of the sides of each. The tangentially extending side walls enable the coiled body to rotate freely in the pocket portion and the channel section is configured and dimensioned to guide but permit rapid passage of the coiled member therethrough.

The use of transparent material for enclosing a member makes the package particularly adapted for use as an attractive display container in which the coiled member such as a replacement blade for a coilable rule, may be readily seen. Suitable legends may be printed on the front face of the support which may also be used to hang the package on a hook by providing a suitable aperture or hang hole therein. It can be seen that the package provides a means for dispensing a reversely wound replacement member from the package for direct rewinding onto another member such as the casing of a coilable rule without the inconvenience of first taking the coiled member from the package and unwinding for subsequent rewinding onto a coilable rule casing. Thus, the frangible package of this invention eliminates the danger of the coilable member becoming kinked and broken during the process of removing the member from the package.

Referring now in detail to the attached drawing, FIG- URES 1 and 2 illustrate a frangible display package having a coiled member, generally designated by the numeral 12, in the form of a replacement blade for a coilable rule. The package has a preformed transparent blister or enclosing member, generally designated by the numeral 14, with a peripheral flange portion 16 extending along and sealingly engaged with the generally planar front face of a paperboard support sheet or substrate 20 by means of a heat-sensitive adhesive or other suitable means. As previously indicated, the enclosing member 14 most conveniently is fabricated from a sheet of transparent synthetic plastic material that is preformed by a conventional thermoforming process or other means and is configured to provides a pocket portion 22 and an outlet guide portion by the side wall 26 and top wall 28. The configuration provides a pocket portion 22 and an outlet guide portion communicating therewith comprised of the terminal section or bulb 46 and the intermediate channel section or neck 40.

As can be seen, the side wall 26 of the chamber portion has arcuate opposed ends defined by the terminal section or bulb 46 and the pocket portion 22, and the sides thereof coverge from the arcuate ends to the neck or channel section 40. The converging sides extend tangentially to their respective arcuate ends and the opposite sides extend in a substantially common plane to the neck 40 which has concave sides smoothly blending the converging sides of the pocket portion 22 and bulb 46. A weakening line or slit 48 is provided in the top wall 28 at the bulb 46 to permit facile fracturing thereof by finger pressure and removal of the end portion of the bulb 46 so as to provide a dispensing opening or aperture.

As illustrated, the coiled manner 12 which is a replacement blade for a coilable rule, is reversely wound. The member 12 has its coiled body portion 30 disposed snugly in the pocket portion 22 with a hook 49 on its inner end extending toward the next lap. A short length unwound from the body portion 30 comprising the outer end portion 32 extends through the neck 40 into the bulb 46 and has connecting apertures 50 and 52 adapted for engagement with the spring 56 of a conventional coilable rule casing generally designated by the numeral 54 and shown in FIGURES 2-4. As can be seen in FIGURES 1 and 2, the coiled body portion 30 bears upon the arcuate side wall of the pocket portion 22 and the outer end portion 32 extends tangentially from the coiled body portion 30 and closely hugs and bears upon the adjacent portions of the side wall 26 of the pocket portion 22 and of the bulb 46 into which it extends through the neck 40 and past the slit 48.

In using the package, it is necessary only to apply firm pressure to the side wall 26 at the opposite sides of the bulb 46 adjacent the slit 48. The material then fractures and the outer portion of the bulb 46 can then be torn off to provide a dispensing aperture and expose the outer end of the coiled member 12. The exposed outer end portion 32 may then be grasped for withdrawal of the coiled body portion 30 of the member 12 from the pocket portion 22.

Illustrative of the advantage of the present package is the illustrated usage with the coilable rule casing 54. The attaching spring 56 of the casing 54 has notches 58 in the sides thereof and a tongue 60 for engagement with the outer end portion 32 of the coiled member 12 in the manner illustrated in FIGURES 2-4. As shown in FIGURE 2, the spring 56 is inserted into the aperture 50 and then rotated 90 degrees so that the notches 58 are engaged with the sides of the aperture 50 and the tongue 60 is inserted into the aperture 52 in the manner illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4. The spring 56, when released, will then draw the coiled member 12 into the coilable rule casing 56 in the usual manner.

Accordingly, by reversely winding the coiled member 12, it may be conveniently dispensed out from the package directly into the coilable rule casing 54 without having to unwind the blade before rewinding it into the rule casing 54. As the coiled member 12 is fed from pocket portion 22, the coiled body portion 30 rotates and expands within the confines of the pocket portion 22 as each turn or lap is removed. Thus the arcuate and tangential portions of the side wall 26 of the pocket portion 22 guide the coiled member 12 for rotation therein and cooperate with the outlet guide portion to feed the unwound portion of the coiled member 12 tangentially through the neck 40. The neck 40 is configured and dimensioned to avoid obstructing passage thereby of the hook 49 on the inner end of the coiled member 12 when the last turn is rotated within the pocket portion 22.

Thus, it can be seen that the present invention provides a novel frangible package for a coiled member that is adapted to convenient dispensing of the coiled member from the package through an opening made by fracturing and tearing away a portion of the blister member. In this manner, the wound portion of the coiled member is gradually unwound with the coiled portion being retained in the package. Such a package has particularly significant advantages when the coiled member received therein is a reversely wound replacement blade for a coilable rule so that it may be rewound directly from the package into a coilable rule casing. The frangible package is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and provides an attractive display container for retail sales purposes which retains the coiled portion of the replacement blade in the package during unwinding to avoid inadvertent kinking and breaking of this member.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. A dispenser display package enclosing a coiled member comprising: a support having a generally planar front face; a coiled member on said front face of said support, said coiled member having an outer end portion extending tangentially from the coiled body thereof; and a preformed enclosing member having a peripheral flange portion extending along and sealingly engaged with said front face of said support and an upwardly extending chamber portion bounded by said flange portion and cooperating with said support to form an enclosure therebetween for said coiled member, said chamber portion having a relatively wide pocket portion snugly receiving said body of said coiled member and providing a housing for rotation therein of said coiled body and also having an outlet guide portion communicating with said pocket portion receiving said outer end portion of said coiled member, said outlet guide portion being of considerably lesser width than said pocket portion at its point of communication therewith, both said pocket portion and said outlet guide portion being dimensioned to permit free movement of said coiled member therein, said outlet guide portion being frangible at a point spaced from its point of communication with said pocket portion to provide an opening in a guide channel leading from said pocket portion for removal of said coiled member from said package by withdrawing said outer end portion through the opening and unwinding of said coiled body within said pocket portion, said coiled member being completely enclosed by said support and enclosing member prior to breaking of said outlet guide portion to provide for withdrawal of said coiled member.

2. The package of claim 1 wherein the side wall of said pocket portion spaced from said outlet guide portion is arcuate with said coiled body snugly seating thereagainst and wherein said side wall adjacent said tangentially extending end portion of said coiled member extends tangentially from said arcuate portion to said outlet guide portion, said coiled member end portion bearing thereagainst.

3. The package of claim 1 wherein said coiled member is a replacement blade for a coilable rule reversely wound in said pocket portion for convenient rewinding into a coilable rule casing.

4. The package of claim 1 wherein said outlet guide portion has an incision thereon providing enhanced frangibility.

5. The package of claim 1 wherein said outlet guide portion has an area wherein the material thereof is of lesser thickness to provide enhanced frangibility.

6. The package of claim 1 wherein said outlet guide portion has a terminal section spaced from said pocket portion and a channel section therebetween of lesser width than said terminal section guiding said coiled member from said pocket portion, said terminal section being readily frangible to provide the opening for the removal of said coiled member from said enclosure.

7. The package of claim 6 wherein said chamber portion of said enclosing member has a generally exclamation mark configuration with said terminal section and said pocket portion having side walls with opposed arcuate ends and sides converging to said channel section.

8. The package of claim 7 wherein said converging sides of said terminal section and pocket portion extend generally tangentially to said coiled body of said coiled member.

9. A dispenser display package enclosing a coiled member comprising: a support having a generally planar front face; a coiled member on said front face of said support, said coiled member having an outer end portion extending tangentially from the coiled body thereof; and a preformed enclosing member of transparent synthetic material having a peripheral flange portion extending along and sealingly engaged with said front face of said support and an upwardly extending chamber portion bounded by said flange portion cooperating with said support to form an enclosure therebetween for said coiled member, said chamber portion having a relatively wide pocket portion snugly receiving said body of said coiled member and providing a housing for rotation therein of said coiled body, said chamber portion also having an output guide portion communicating with said pocket portion and enclosing said outer end portion of said coiled member, said outlet guide portion having a terminal section spaced from said pocket portion and a channel section therebetween of lesser width than said terminal section, the side wall of said pocket portion spaced from said outlet guide portion being arcuate with said coiled body snugly sealing thereagainst and said side Wall adjacent said tangentially extending end portion of said coiled member extending tangentially from said arcuate portion to said channel section with said coiled member end portion bearing thereagainst, said channel section being of considerably lesser width than said pocket portion at its point of communication therewith, both said outlet guide portion and said pocket portion being dimensioned to permit free moveemnt of said coiled member therein, said coiled member being completely enclosed by said support and enclosing member prior to tearing of said enclosing member for withdrawal of said coiled member, the plastic material of said terminal section having a weakening line therein for facile tearing of said terminal section of said enclosing member to provide an opening for removal of said coiled member from said package by withdrawing said outer end portion through the opening and unwinding of said coiled body within said pocket portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,793,745 5/1957 COX. 3,115,243 12/1963 Nash 206-52 3,165,234 1/1965 Conklin et al. 206-78 XR 3,202,269 8/1965 Lewis et al 206-52 3,253,705 5/1966 Stoker 206-56 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Eraminer. LOUIS G. MANCENE, Examiner. J. M. CASKIE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A DISPENSER DISPLAY PACKAGE ENCLOSING A COILED MEMBER COMPRISING: A SUPPORT HAVING A GENERALLY PLANAR FRONT FACE; A COILED MEMBER ON SAID FRONT FACE OF SAID SUPPORT, SAID COILED MEMBER HAVING AN OUTER END PORTION EXTENDING TANGENTIALLY FROM THE COILED BODY THEREOF; AND A PREFORMED ENCLOSING MEMBER HAVING A PERIPHERAL FLANGE PORTION EXTENDING ALONG AND SEALINGLY ENGAGED WITH SAID FRONT FACE OF SAID SUPPORT AND AN UPWARDLY EXTENDING CHAMBER PORTION BOUNDED BY SAID FLANGE PORTION AND COOPERATING WITH SAID SUPPORT TO FORM AN ENCLOSURE THEREBETWEEN FOR SAID COILED MEMBER, SAID CHAMBER PORTION HAVING A RELATIVELY WIDE POCKET PORTION SNUGLY RECEIVING SAID BODY OF SAID COILED MEMBER AND PROVIDING A HOUSING FOR ROTATION THEREIN OF SAID COILED BODY AND ALSO HAVING AND OUTLET GUIDE PORTION COMMUNICATING WITH SAID POCKET PORTION RECEIVING SAID OUTER END PORTION OF SAID COILED MEMBER, SAID OUTLET GUIDE PORTION BEING OF CONSIDERABLY LESSER WIDTH THAN SAID POCKET PORTION AT ITS POINT OF COMMUNICATION THEREWITH, BOTH SAID POCKET PORTION AND SAID 